Please support our efforts to improve the future for basketball in Port Macquarie by signing this petition. 

If you're a PMBA member over 18, you can also sign the requisition asking PMBA to hold a Special General Meeting. 

(You don't need to donate to boost this petition. Your signature is enough. Thank you.)

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An open letter to the Port Macquarie Basketball Community The concerned members of the Port Macquarie Basketball family, have grave concerns regarding the direction of the Port Macquarie Basketball Association (PMBA) under the guidance of its current board of directors.
 
Port Macquarie has strong and successful roots in basketball at a local and state level and boasts some of the newest and best facilities in NSW. For many years the Association has suffered from high turn-over of volunteer officials and a culture of poor communication, negativity and intimidation from the Board.
 
As the proposed August 2020 AGM approached, a group of concerned parents of junior players decided that it wasn’t enough to merely talk about these ongoing issues– it was time to step up and seek positive change.
 
The AGM and Board Vacancies
Respecting the workload of organising community sport - offers were made to assist by temporarily filling vacant board positions. More than 35 parents and community members paid their $20 and signed up a volunteer members to enable them to be more engaged and have a vote at the AGM.
 
The Board not only ignored the offers of help, they rejected without explanation all membership applications and cancelled the AGM under the guise of Covid19 restrictions.
 
The Department of Fair Trading has made it clear that AGMs should take place if alternative means to hold the meeting, such as Zoom meetings, are available.
 
By cancelling the AGM, the board has violated its own constitution which states, “In particular, the Board shall act in accordance with the Objects and shall operate for the benefit of the Members and the community throughout the local area.”
 
Members who filed a formal grievance with the board regarding the cancellation of the AGM, were summoned to appear in front of their tribunal for “breach of the code of conduct.”
 
The Board has not engaged in any discussion about the AGM, offered no timeframe for when it will occur and given no consideration to Covid safe ways to conduct the meeting, despite other Basketball and sports clubs around Australia being able to host AGMs in 2020.
 
Conflict and Bans
 The internal conflict within the board rose to such a level that Basketball New South Wales became involved and recommended a plan of mediation. The current board rejected this notion and chose to ignore the advice of their state Association.
 
The PMBA Coaching Director and U18W coach, a decorated BNSW icon, was called to a board tribunal after he sent an email to the board voicing his displeasure with their actions.
 
The tribunal hearing was run by the three board members who raised the objection to his email with no independent reviewer. Nick was found guilty of breaching the Code of Conduct, wasn’t provided with any avenue for objectivity, natural justice or appeal.
 
Nick was ejected from the association for FIVE YEARS. Banned from volunteering as a coach, any involvement in the Association and not even allowed to enter the facility to spectate or supervise his own children.
 
The Head Coaches of U14M and U18M representative teams were also called to a board tribunal because they sent an email to the parents of their players suggesting that they could register as members of the Association and “have their voices heard.”
 
The tribunal hearing was run by the three board members who raised the objection to this email, again with no independent reviewer. Both volunteer coaches were declared guilty of all charges with no concern for objectivity or natural justice or opportunity for appeal. The U14M coach was banned for TWO YEARS and the U18M coach was also ejected from the association and banned for FIVE YEARS. 
 
The majority voting bloc of the Board has stood down other current board members who disagreed with their position. Members have not been informed of this decision. 
 
Ceasing all training
Despite a memo from the NSW Chief Health Officer clearly allowing for local trainings to continue, the board decreed that all representative basketball activities, including trainings, cease immediately on August 18th.
 
This was done without consulting the Coaching Director, any other Coaches, or any parents. Interestingly, domestic competitions, which involve many more people than any rep training, have been allowed to continue. Other Associations in the state of NSW are running carnivals and representative tournaments and Port Macquarie players can’t even train to keep fit, connect with their friends and support their mental health in a year of uncertainty.
 
Taking Action
Members have asserted their rights, as clearly written in the PMBA constitution, to inspect the register of members in order to plan a Special General Meeting. The board has refused to allow this.
 
Members have rights within the constitution to call a Special General Meeting (SGM) of the association. To call an SGM 5% of current members need to sign that request. The meeting agenda asks the Board to explain their position and the decisions they have made and move a motion to call for an AGM in 2020.
 
This will allow a fair and democratic process to move this association forward and get back to playing basketball!

Thank you for supporting our cause.

For more information, follow the link to our website.  
https://www.reboundportmacquarie.com